WRINKLED CHOCOLATE & ANISE COOKIES

Star anise does not live up to its starry name here; rather, it’s very much the support act. The flavour is hard to put your finger on – challenge people to see if they can taste it. What they will notice is how it intensifies the dark chocolate, bringing out the umami and giving an almost smoky depth. You can make the dough in advance and chill it until you’re ready to cook.

MAKES 20

H 60g unsalted butter

H 4 star anise

H 60g unsweetened cocoa powder

H 200g icing sugar

H ¼ tsp fine sea salt

H 2 large egg whites

H 150g best dark chocolate

(70% cocoa solids)

H sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

1 Melt the butter with the star anise over a medium heat. Heat for a few minutes to let the butter sizzle and foam, swirling to keep the milk solids from burning. Leave to cool and infuse for 30 minutes, then scoop out and discard the stars.

2 Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Sift the cocoa powder and icing sugar into a large bowl and mix in the fine salt. Stir through the infused butter

and egg whites to make a thick paste.

3 Chop the chocolate into a rubble with both finer dust and larger shards, then add to the mixture.

4 Dollop spoonfuls of the batter on to the baking sheets, each about 4cm, spacing them to allow the cookies to flatten and spread. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt.

5 Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops look glossy, wrinkled and just set. Leave to cool completely on the tray. They’ll taste just as good the day after baking.

SPICE SWITCH The butter is the carrier of flavour so you could try variations with any whole spices, such as black and pink peppercorns, bay leaves, cardamom, juniper, lemongrass, cumin, lavender flowers or chilli. Don’t expect the spice flavour to be strong; it will intermingle with the complexity of chocolate.